


Taking a Breath

by lady_wordsmith



Series: Memories (Bucky/Reader) [14]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Advice, Breather Chapter, F/M, Getting closer to some big reveals, Past Relationship(s), Reader-Insert, Romance, Then it's back to the angst, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 06:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8275604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_wordsmith/pseuds/lady_wordsmith
Summary: Bucky gets some advice while Steve and Sam hit a roadblock.As for you? Something, as usual, lurks beneath the surface.





	

He struggle for words at first, but then he just settles on the most obvious question.

“You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

“I _know_ I’m clever. After all, you didn’t suspect a thing, did you?”

Bucky scowls at that, but instead of firing back the snappy retort on his lips, he takes a sip of coffee.

* * *

Steve’s mind is racing. Bucky’s phone… Everything is rapidly spiraling out of control, and for once Steve has no idea what to do. Bucky could be anywhere now, and he probably knows the city better than Steve or Sam do. This is one of the worst things that could have happened.

“Calm down, Cap.” He hears Sam say, and that’s when he realizes he’s probably having a panic attack. Taking a few deep breaths, he looks at Sam.

“I thought it was weird he hadn’t moved for a while. The GPS…” Sam nods as Steve gestures to the phone.

“Well, we know he’s probably not rushing back to speak to her.” Sam raises his own phone at Steve’s questioning look. “Just got an email from her. Apparently Tall, Dark, and Broody acted normal enough that she sent him a lease.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“It tells us where he’s not. And it _does_ help us. Helps him when we find him, anyway. Maybe he’ll calm down when he finds out he’ll be sharing space with her.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Sam smirks and nods. “I think it’s a _fantastic_ idea, thank you. Look… I know you’re worried about him. But he wanted to find her, right?”

Steve nods.

“And it doesn’t take a genius to see that taking risks to find her would put him in danger. And her not remembering puts _her_ in danger. So-“

“Putting them together kills two birds with one stone.” Steve finishes. “Bucky doesn’t take risks, and he can protect her if something were to happen.”

Sam nods and hands Bucky’s phone to Steve.

“C’mon, then. Let’s go meet Deron. Nothing we can do till Bucky contacts us, right?”

Steve sighs again. Sam’s right. The whole thing makes a stupid amount of sense. But for now, Steve knows he’s stuck waiting.

“I hate this.” He says out loud, which makes Sam chuckle.

“Pretty sure that’s why he did it, Cap. God forbid he makes your life easier, right?” Sam asks.

Steve shoots a glare at Sam, but manages a smile all the same. It is funny, he supposes, or it will be funny later. He’s probably overthinking it, he knows, with his thoughts immediately focused on the worst case scenario. Bucky has his number. Bucky will call, somehow, when he’s ready.

* * *

“You look pretty harmless, though.” Bucky says as he lowers his coffee.

“I suppose I am, depending on what you’re looking for.”

“One question, though.”

“Shoot.”

“Did _I_ fool _you_ at all?”

* * *

Your cell phone rings, and you know before picking up that it’s Lila. You put your copy of _House of Leaves_ aside and answer.

“Yes?” you ask, sitting up in your bed.

“Can you come over, kid? Hayden says she needs your help.” She asks you.

“I _have_ a life, you know. I need to get this other bedroom rented.” You protest.

“Do you have any other showings today?”

“No,” you admit, your shoulders sagging.

Damn it, how do they know everything? You’ve always wondered at Lila’s ability to know everything especially; you remember how, after you came back from your year away, your cousins appeared stunned, amazed, and almost a little scared that you were alive, but Lila had only grinned and wiggled her fingers at you.

“Did you have fun?” she asked you then.

“I met someone.” You replied, your voice soft and quiet and unsure.

Lila had grinned again and actually threw her head back for a laugh, and then it was an endless loop of her pleading, “ _Tell_ me, kid, tell me _everything_ ,” until you told her about Europe and Giamo.

“So come over.” Lila’s voice pierces your thoughts, and you blink, grounding yourself firmly in the present.

“I hate you, you know that, Lila?” you ask, standing and attempting to hunt down your shoes.

“You _adore_ me, kid. Look, Hayden says it’s just something quick.”

“So why can’t she just ask me over the phone? I could probably tell her what to do with whatever she needs help with.” You’re tempted to tell them all to fuck off and hide under your blankets reading, but you know you’re going to help them anyway.

“ ‘Fraid not, kid She requires physical help.”

“Ask Lane, then. Jesus. All that training, and you need my help instead of his?”

“Lane’s already here. They need more help.”

You finally find your shoes and shove them on. “And I guess your arms are broken?” You say, smirking.

“Oh, fuck you sideways, kid. See you in a bit.” Lila tells you before hanging up in your ear.

You shake your head, pocket your cell, and head out, locking the door behind you.

* * *

“Nope, not at all.”

Bucky actually finds himself laughing at that. Of course not, who was he kidding? That had been a dumb question.

“I suppose I should have expected that. I wasn’t really thinking, or trying to hide.” Bucky confesses.

“You’re very lucky most people are apathetic and unobservant, yes. Though to be fair to you, most people don’t automatically look for a metal arm.”

“I had enough sense-“

“To hide it, yes. Although I should tell you, gloves in this weather can actually draw attention to your hands.”

* * *

Deron’s place isn’t actually very far from where Bucky had left his phone. However, when Sam tries buzzing Deron over the apartment intercom, there’s no answer, even when Sam buzzes him again, and then a third time for good measure. He then calls Deron, putting the call on speaker phone.

“Hello?” a voice Steve assumes is Deron answers.

“Deron! It’s Sam. We’re here. Where are you?” Sam asks.

A hiss from the man at the other end.

“Shit. Sam, look, something came up and I had to go. It’s going to be a few hours. Listen, there’s a coffeeshop nearby. You think you can chill out there in the meantime?”

“Looks like I don’t have much choice.” Sam deadpans. “Call me when you’re free, alright?”

The man on the other end agrees and Sam hangs up.

“C’mon, then.” He tells Steve. “Let’s find that coffeeshop.”

Steve rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Deron is an asshole. Trust me, you’ll be thinking that a lot.”

* * *

Bucky picks at his gloves a minute before removing them, maintaining eye contact with the other man the entire time.

“Fair enough.” He says, tossing his gloves on the table.

“So why are you here, if I may ask? Last I checked, you told me you were headed to New York.”

“Last _I_ checked, you were a senile old man.” Bucky replies, pleased with himself at the snappiness of his reply.

“Touché.” Will responds, taking a sip of his own coffee.

* * *

When you arrive at Hayden and Lila’s, Lila answers the door and ushers you in. After she gives you a quick hug, she leads you to the living room.

“Just have a seat on the couch,” she tells you, switching on a lava lamp on the coffee table.

“Where are Hayden and Lane?” you ask, your eyes drifting to the lava lamp as you sit down.

Lila waves a hand. “Oh, they’ll be back in a second. Just relax, okay?” she tells you, leaving the room before you have a chance to protest.

Not that you could, anyway. Your eyes are following the lava lamp as the wax inside rises and falls into the liquid surrounding it. The colors are very eye-catching, you think, watching the repetitive motion of the wax rising and falling.

You’re not sure how long you watch the lava lamp. You can’t even really remember the last time you blinked. You wonder when Hayden and Lane will come to collect you and have you help them, but then the thought floats away like a soap bubble and you just keep watching the lava lamp.

You think you hear something, but that thought barely registers before it floats away and your eyes close.

* * *

“So do they exist?” I was always curious.” Bucky asks.

“Do who exist?”

“Richard and Andy.”

“In a fashion.” Will says, and Bucky can’t hold the roll of his eyes.

“Meaning?” he asks.

“It’s a very long story, James.” Will pauses. “Your name _is_ James, right?”

“So I’m told.” Bucky replies drily, which makes Will chuckle.

“Look, James, I don’t know why you’re here or what you’re planning on, but take a word of advice from someone who’s watched the world fall to hell while you were unaware.” Will tells him, his eyes boring into Bucky’s.

Bucky looks away. “You know that’s my fault, right?” he asks.

Will shakes his head. “You were a cog in a machine, James, and in any case, it wasn’t all your fault. If you had the time or the inclination to listen to an old man, I imagine the two of us could discuss how HYDRA exploited human nature-“

“How much do you know?” Bucky interrupts, looking up and meeting Will’s eyes.

“As I used to tell my Edith? Not nearly enough. But I was always good at those connect-the-dot puzzles, and at guessing. But that’s neither here or there.” Will declares, making a motion with his hand as if to sweep something away. “Let me give you some advice, James?”

“I’m listening.” Bucky says, his voice very quiet now. He wonders, briefly, if he has to kill Will to keep him quiet, but he discards the thought almost out-of-hand. Will fooled him at first, after all. It wasn’t a big leap to assume Will had fooled and would continue to fool others.

“Watch your step. Some people are very clever-“

“Cleverer than you?”

“No one’s cleverer than I am, James. But as I was saying, some people are very clever, and you need to be two things at once: you need to be on your toes, ready to make a snap decision, but you also need to be ready to watch and observe before making a decision.” Will stands, tossing his empty paper cup in the trash. “Look-“ and he reaches into his pocket and hands Bucky some change.”There’s payphones at the train station if you need to make a call. That phone’s probably long gone by now. And James?”

“Yeah, Will?” Bucky says, standing and throwing his own trash away.

Will rests a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, and Bucky looks down at this stooped old man, full of a quiet dignity that Bucky respects.

“What happened with her wasn’t your fault, either.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, tiny reveal, not big yet, but getting there. Something is happening to the Reader that her cousins are responsible for, but what? Is it connected to her and Bucky?
> 
> Some of you are probably starting to get the bigger picture, but I request that you not spoil it for the rest of the readers who are probably going nuts with theories.
> 
> I'm still pretty sure no one knows what Will is doing/is up to yet, though (except, obviously, me). So feel free to speculate in the comments about that- you may be right, who knows?


End file.
